Wednesday, January 03, 2007

New Year, New Project

As a jobbing author I have always have to be in front of myself, which can disconcerting and distracting. I traveled on a fantastic emotional journey with William Marshal in The Greatest Knight and The Scarlet Lion. The former came out in paperback in July of 06 and the latter in hardcover in December, with a paperback release of The Scarlet Lion due this summer. To my readers these are fresh and new. To me it's an ongoing part of a process that has lasted at least twelve months and has to share the stage with other projects. Even as the first reviews come in for The Scarlet Lion and Little Brown gear up for the paperback, I have just handed in last year's work in progress to my agent. A Place Beyond Courage, the story of John Marshal, will be published in hardcover in October2007. As from today I am on tenterhooks awaiting that first all important response to what took me all of 2006 to write. However, I also have to focus on the next contracted project for 2008. It's a bit like being a breeding parent all over again. I have to give my attention to the forthcoming paperback (the toddler), the new baby (the hardcover) and the pregnancy (work in progress!) Then of course there are the older children with their various needs (the backlist). I wouldn't swap my job for anything in the world, it's what I've wanted to do all my life, but there's certainly never a dull moment!Happy New Year to all!Elizabeth :-)

Hi Elizabeth - I live in the US and recently obtained a copy of The Greatest Knight. I read about a third of it yesterday and absolutely love it! I look forward to reading The Scarlett Lion and your other books.

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THE WINTER CROWN

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

" Wow! I feel like someone used to watching movies in black and white but has just seen the first one in technicolor! " A personal letter from a reader.

"The Winter Crown ...will, I have no doubt, become the definitive fictional account of this remarkable woman.' ..." I’ve read a fair few fictional depictions of Henry II over the years and I must say that his portrait in The Winter Crown has the most authentic feel of them all."Kate Atherton, author of For Winters Night blog.

"Eeanor’s life story has been told many times over in historical novels but rarely with such insight, emotional intensity and page-turning readability." Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Evening Post.

"In the world of the arts, the Black Legend and the Golden Myth still hold sway, as seen in novels, such as Alison Weir's, which seek to portray both the scandalous, adulterous queen of legend and the powerful female ruler. Historians may shake their heads at the perpetuation of such myths, but many historical novelists such as Sharon Kay Penman and Elizabeth Chadwick are seeking to apply modern scholarship to their fiction, and consequently avoid the most egregious of the legends that surround Eleanor."

THE SUMMER QUEEN UK cover

US paperback cover. UK hardback

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE SUMMER QUEEN

"What I loved about this novel, and I have felt this way about all of Elizabeth’s novels that I have read, is that she does not pander to stereotypes or write scandal for the sake of it. The historical Eleanor is defamed beyond belief- a whore chasing anything in trousers, a woman who committed incest with her uncle, a woman who was ‘ahead of her time’, and so on. Elizabeth’s Alienor is none of these things. She is treated fairly, as a woman of her own time, written in a believable way. Elizabeth does not go for scandal because she does not need to- the writing in this novel makes that very clear. Her scene setting is lovely, her character development top notch, and the book is a compulsive page turner. I couldn’t put it down." Sarah Bell

."The Summer Queen is a fabulous novel based on the most up-to-date and meticulous research. This is historical fiction at its best and I loved every page of it." Kate Atherton, blogger.

"I have read just about everything I can about Eleanor and enjoyed both biographical and fictional accounts of her life but I must say that your creation of Eleanor is the most compelling." Reader from Australia

"I loved the story; I loved the way the author wrote Alienor as a woman of her times instead of a thoroughly modern independent woman, or a slut in chase of anything in pants. As with all Chadwick novels, there's also the added plus of being sucked into another century with the sights, smells and sounds that wrap up a darn-near perfect reading experience. I couldn't put it down, and very sorry I'm going to have to wait for the next installment. Reader from the USA"

I often see the expressions, `fleshing out the history' and `making it real', and they more than apply here...the main aspect that made me keep turning the pages and burning the midnight oil? The things that I didn't know about Alienor.." Reader from Australia

"Chadwick has succeeded where many other novelists have failed by giving us not just the legend but the very human young woman – intelligent, determined, witty and sexy." Pam Norfolk. Lancashire Evening Post.